Oppenheimer & Close LLC Purchases New Holdings in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK)

Oppenheimer & Close LLC purchased a new stake in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 33,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP increased its position in Star Bulk Carriers by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,365 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,422 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 22,482 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Star Bulk Carriers by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,129 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.91% of the company’s stock.

Star Bulk Carriers Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBLK opened at $16.58 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has a 12 month low of $14.30 and a 12 month high of $27.47.

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ:SBLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The shipping company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $308.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.91 million. Star Bulk Carriers had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 24.08%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Star Bulk Carriers Corp. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Star Bulk Carriers Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Star Bulk Carriers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Star Bulk Carriers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Star Bulk Carriers from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.05.

Star Bulk Carriers Company Profile

Star Bulk Carriers Corp., a shipping company, engages in the ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes worldwide. Its vessels transport a range of bulk commodities, including iron ores, minerals and grains, bauxite, fertilizers, and steel products. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned a fleet of 116 dry bulk vessels with combined carrying capacity of 13.1 million deadweight tonnage (dwt) consisting of Newcastlemax, Capesize, Post Panamax, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax, and Supramax vessels with carrying capacities between 53,489 dwt and 209,537 dwt.